NDLEA busts UK bound cocaine ring, arrests kingpin, five accomplices

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has busted two major cocaine syndicates behind six United Kingdom bound shipments, arresting the kingpin, Alhaji Hammed Taofeek Ode, and five other members of the network in a series of nationwide raids.

NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said in a statement on Sunday that the coordinated, intelligence driven operations were conducted across Lagos and other states over three weeks, leading to the seizure of multiple cocaine consignments concealed in everyday products.

The breakthrough, he said, began on September 16, 2025, when operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, intercepted 174 parcels of cocaine weighing 13.4 kilogrammes hidden in cocoa butter body cream containers. The arrest of a cargo agent linked to the consignment later led investigators to Ode, who had returned to Nigeria in 2024 after spending 27 years in Europe.

Subsequent raids between September 26 and October 2 uncovered additional cocaine hidden in hair cream, stainless cups, and crayfish packages bringing the total haul to 7.1 kilogrammes. Among those arrested were a furniture maker, Smith David Korede, and two others, Ogunbiyi Oluseye Taiwo and Popoola Francis Olumuyiwa.

Ode, described as a self styled businessman and estate developer, reportedly confessed to owning one of the seized consignments valued at over ₦150 million.

In a related operation, NDLEA officers intercepted 6.3 kilogrammes of “Loud”, a potent strain of cannabis smuggled from Thailand and concealed in bedsheets and hibiscus flowers.

The agency also recorded nationwide seizures of tramadol, codeine syrup, pregabalin, synthetic cannabis (“Colorado”), and skunk during coordinated raids in Kano, Lagos, Kwara, Kaduna, Ogun, Osun, and Edo states.

In Kano, 290,450 pills of tramadol and pregabalin were seized from one suspect, Sa’adu Ali, while in Lagos, a dealer identified as “SammyBless” was arrested in Lekki with 550 grammes of Colorado. Over 532 kilogrammes of skunk were recovered in Kaduna, and a 14,000-kilogramme skunk plantation was destroyed in Osun.

NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), hailed the officers for their “tenacity and professionalism,” describing the coordinated busts as a major blow to organised drug trafficking networks.

“These operations are clear warnings to cartels that NDLEA will not relent until the menace of drug trafficking and abuse is eradicated,” Marwa said.

He added that the agency had intensified its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign with sensitisation programmes across schools, markets, and workplaces in Adamawa, Katsina, Niger, Lagos, and Imo states.